[Musings of a Game Store Owner] Vacation!

As some of you may already know, last week TheDude went on vacation.

He didn't go to the beach or Florida- he went to GenCon!

I was on "vacation" too, but I used my vacation from my day job to mind the store.

TheDude's been gone before, but usually just for a couple days and he's been readily available via phone or text. If something came up, I was able to ask him what to do or how to handle things. This time, he was gone for 5 days and due to reception issues, was almost incommunicado the entire time. I was "on my own".

I did have our awesome staff (who work at the store a whole lot more than I do) to back me up, and I had a pretty good set of directions for more complicated or involved stuff. But this was a big responsibility and I had to take good care of our business so I didn't  "burn it down to the ground" while TheDude was gone.

I learned a lot during this vacation that TheDude took. I spent tons of time at the store, finding out more about our customers, products, processes and problems while I covered our business so that TheDude could get his relaxing done.

TheDude came home and immediately announced that he wants to take the entire family next year. Preparations and planning for our next vacation are already in motion.

In normal jobs, you rack up vacation time and take it when you want it, and still get paid. When you own your own business, it's a little different. We have to plan not just for expenses of the trip (hotel, food, games, fun) but also for the expenses of keeping the business open while you're gone. We have to figure out how to pay for employees, as well as make enough to "make money", or have a whole lot saved to make up for the possibility of lost income.

Is all this planning and thinking ahead worthwhile? Seeing TheDude's face and attitude after he returned from vacation, I say absolutely "yes". I'm looking forward to sharing the trip with him next year, and am busy making sure we have all our ducks in a row to do so.